Plymouth Township settles with DuPont over trees killed by Imprelis

Oct. 7, 2013

Written by

Detroit Free Press staff writer

Plymouth Township has reached settlements worth more than $300,000 total with the chemical giant DuPont over dozens of trees that were killed or damaged on public property by the weed-control agent Imprelis.

DuPont has paid out unspecified millions in settlements nationwide after withdrawing its herbicide Imprelis from the market in 2011 and acknowledging it was causing some tree species to die, including Norway spruce and white pines. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said at the time that DuPont knew the product could injure or kill certain trees yet failed to make that known to consumers.

Plymouth Township Supervisor Richard Reaume said Imprelis was applied to about 10 township parcels, including all three of the township’s fire stations, the Township Hall, a senior center and a number of parks.

The chemical company inspected township properties early last year and offered a settlement that the township rejected, Reaume said.

“The longer we waited, the more impact we saw on our trees,” he said.

A second inspection this past summer led to the updated, larger settlement, Reaume said.

A DuPont spokesman responded to messages seeking comment with an e-mailed statement. “Resolution of the Imprelis damage remains a top priority for DuPont,” he said. “This is a complex process and it takes time to do it fairly and accurately.”

The company’s agreements with Plymouth Township call for the removal of badly damaged evergreens, many of them white pines, and for money to replace those trees — in many cases with different types of firs that are not susceptible to any trace of the chemical that may still be lingering in the ground, Reaume said. The funds also will help maintain new trees and other damaged but unreplaced trees.

DuPont does not admit responsibility in the settlement, which also settles any future claims.

Reaume noted that many of the trees lost were 25 to 30 feet tall, and will be replaced with trees about a third that size.

“I’m totally upset — I’m upset they even allowed this product,” he said. “They didn’t do enough testing. You hate to have to go through this because of their error.”